Press

WASHINGTON –The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, and National Women’s Law Center, along with 67 national, state, and local organizations, filed a “friend of the court” brief today urging the Supreme Court to uphold the rights of workers against discrimination by religious employers.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and its sister organization, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, welcomed Becky Monroe as director, and Iman Boukadoum as senior manager, of the Fighting Hate and Bias program; and Charmaine Riley as a communications manager. The Fighting Hate and Bias program combats hate and bigotry, advances immigrant rights, and supports community leaders and advocates who have long been leading these fights.

WASHINGTON – Leading civil rights organizations and California census officials will host a telephone press briefing on March 13 at 12 PM ET to discuss the start of the 2020 Census, protections around census data confidentiality, and the work being done to encourage participation across the country. 

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, issued the following statement on Facebook’s decision to take down Trump and Pence campaign ads that misled people about the census. The misleading content included calling on users to “take this census” and "take the Official 2020 Congressional District Census.” Facebook’s actions followed direct engagement from Gupta to the tech firm’s senior leadership yesterday evening.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, testified today on the multitude of risks that could keep people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, young children, and low-income households from being counted in the upcoming 2020 Census — leading to loss of public funds and political representation for already vulnerable communities for the next 10 years. The hearing, “Reaching Hard-to-Count Communities in the 2020 Census,” was held by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, issued the following statement on the passage of “minibus” legislation that provides the U.S. Census Bureau with full-year funding for the 2020 Census for Fiscal Year 2020:

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, issued the following statement on the census funding included in the Continuing Resolution (CR):

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, November 20, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, families of Khalid Jabara and Matthew Shepard, and the civil rights community convened to discuss the epidemic of hate in our country and tangible actions for reform. A facilitated discussion led by The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund President and CEO Vanita Gupta commemorated the ten-year anniversary of the passage of the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act and addressed the need to pass the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Leadership Conference Education Fund (The Education Fund) received a $5 million gift, over two years, from Craig Newmark Philanthropies that will help strengthen and expand American democracy. This transformational gift from the organization of craigslist founder Craig Newmark will support The Education Fund’s democracy work, including its All Voting is Local campaign and voting rights and census efforts.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference Education Fund released its policy brief, “Gainful Employment: A Civil Rights Perspective,” today describing the exploitation of Black and Latino students by for-profit colleges and urging the Department of Education to enforce the Higher Education Act and protect students. Twenty-one civil rights, consumer lending, and education groups signed onto the brief, demanding Secretary DeVos propose a new rule to advance equity and protect students’ civil rights.